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Friday, 17 August 2012

Optimism gives way to defiance, Premier League season preview, Sunderland (h) preview

Many
thanks to those who provided feedback on the look of the site after the changes
earlier in the week. As you will see I have now removed the classic Arsenal
crest from the background. Most people were of the same opinion that it was a
distracting element. Now that it has been taken away I hope the experience of
reading my drivel is a little less hard on the eyes.

I had
this entire post written at about 6.30pm on Wednesday. Within the next hour I
realised it was going to need a serious re-write. This is a long post, even
without the changes and additions I’ve had to make. I had intended for this be
the annual Premier League preview, and a preview of the Sunderland match
tomorrow. The goings on at Arsenal in the meantime mean that I can not possibly
go further without talking about what has happened.

Last
Sunday I was mightily impressed by Arsenal in the win at Cologne. The wave of
optimism I was feeling was decidedly unusual. What has happened this week has
seen much of the optimism wiped away, but it has been replaced by something
else. I hope that the defiant feeling I have is something most other Gooners
are getting hold of. When we lost players last season it had such an effect on
the Club that a bad start was always going to happen. Robin Van Persie’s choice
of destination has left me thinking “F*** you. We’re Arsenal. It’s us against
everyone, so let’s get out there and show them who we are.”

I am not
disappointed that Van Persie has gone. Following his disrespectful statement after
Euro 2012 I wanted him out. However, I have a real problem with him joining
Manchester United. Make no mistake, this is not about trophies. He has gone
there through pure greed, just as Frank Stapleton and Viv Anderson did in the
past. The echoes of the Stapleton transfer are really quite haunting, and so
will the chants against Van Persie be tomorrow. Van Persie always claimed to
have been an Arsenal supporter, and there is the picture of him in his 1998
shirt in his bedroom. How can any true Arsenal fan go and join Manchester
United given what has gone on in the last 25 years? Onwards and upwards. We
need to replace Van Persie, but I don’t think Wenger will do anything of the sort.
We have to go with what we have, and that will not be easy. However, Van Persie
was never going to be part of it, even before Wednesday, so we have to hope the
necessary work has been done in training.

As you
know I will not write about speculation. Arsene’s comments today with regards
to Alex Song leave me able to write about his situation. I can’t believe that
we are about to sell Song. Even worse, I can’t believe we’re about to sell him
to Barcelona for next to nothing. Is Song causing problems behind the scenes?
We don’t know, but there is clearly something wrong. I do not agree with Wenger
when he almost disregards Song on the grounds that he has a lot of quality
midfielders at the Club. Sadly he is overlooking the fact that Song is the only
one remotely capable of playing the defensive role. I’m sure we can do better
than Song, but that means replacing him. Unless we go and get Nigel De Jong,
Marouane Felllaini or Yann M’Villa I don’t really see that happening (loaning a
player that couldn’t get near the Real Madrid side does not thrill me at all).

If Song
does follow Van Persie through the door then it will be the biggest of kicks in
the teeth for Arsene Wenger. No other players at Arsenal owe more to Wenger
than those two. Song was the player of less than limited ability that Wenger
nurtured in to a strong Premier League player, Van Persie the injury-prone,
flawed genius that Wenger refused to abandon. It leaves a nasty taste but, as I
said, we’re Arsenal so f*** them.

Premier
League Preview

Aston
Villa

Paul
Lambert coming in as manager should see the Villans move in to safer areas in
terms of a final league position. The problem for Lambert is whether or not
players will have a great deal of respect for a man who has proven disloyal to
his last two clubs (though given what I’ve written above it seems that players
really don’t give a toss). Undoubtedly he can organise a team, and get them to
play good football. He can also get the best out of individuals – Grant Holt is
an obvious example – but the way he has left Colchester and Norwich leaves a
bitter taste. Villa’s strike options are increased simply because they don’t
have Emile Heskey anymore, though the departures of Carlos Cuellar and James
Collins might hurt them at the back. They’ve brought in Feyenord’s Ron Vlaar
who had the look of a Stepanovs type defender in Euro 2012. I don’t see them
facing a relegation battle this season, but not top half material either.

Chelsea

I am not
disappointed that Chelsea have appointed Roberto Di Matteo as boss. Having won
the FA Cup and European Cup they had little choice, I suppose, though it looked
like he might not get the nod for a while. I don’t believe Di Matteo is a
particularly good manager, and he will last as long as Terry and Lampard allow
him to. There will no doubt be added confidence from their win in Munich, but
don’t forget Chelsea were largely poor in the Premier League last season, even
with Di Matteo in charge. Sadly, any of us hoping Abramovich would go now he
has won what he always wanted, have been disappointed – the lavishing of £60m+
on four players this Summer shows that he is here for the foreseeable future, and
that FFP will not bother Chelsea in the slightest.

Eden
Hazard was the highest profile of those signings, but I’m pleased we didn’t get
him. The way Hazard conducted himself before joining Chelsea showed me that he
will fit in well with Cashley and co, and could be a disruptive type. His arrogance
was staggering.

It will
be interesting to see what effect is had by losing Didier Drogba. I was a bit
surprised when he announced he was on his way to China. In the cup competitions
last year he showed that he still had surreal ability when he wanted to play.
Do they have strikers capable to replacing him? I doubt it. Certainly Daniel
Sturridge is more Jermaine Defoe than Didier Drogba.

Obviously
the Chavs will challenge near the top, but I can’t see them threatening the
Manchester clubs for the Title. A place in the top four, and maybe another cup
or two.

Everton

It’s
been a bizarre Summer of comings and goings at Everton. David Moyes showed
significant loyalty in turning down the lure of Tottenham, and the chance to
actually spend some money, in order to stay at Goodison Park. Nikica Jelavic
was outstanding after joining in January, and he will once again be supported
by Steven Pienaar on his permanent return to Merseyside. I’m not sure about the
signing of Steven Naismith from Rangers, but at least he didn’t cost a fee.

The more
concerning thing for the Toffees is how they continue to have to sell. I was
shocked when Tim Cahill went off to play in America. I suspect he felt time was
catching up with him, and a large pay day was something he felt he required. I
know he didn’t get his usual amount of goals last season, but his aerial
ability was crucial all over the pitch. Jack Rodwell has made a career ending
move to Manchester City – at least Everton made good money.

With
Cahill gone Everton will be very reliant on Jelavic, Pienaar and Marouane
Fellaini. At the back they are usually strong, and the home crowd makes
Goodison a tough place to visit. David Moyes would love to get back in to
Europe, but I think his best chance of that is in the cups. Top half for
Everton, but not top six.

Fulham

The
Cottagers were slow off the mark last year, but recovered to a more than
respectable finish. I was surprised at how well they did, but Clint Dempsey’s
stellar season was largely responsible. Pavel Pogrebnyak signing elsewhere will
have been a blow after his impact when on loan to them. They’ve made some solid
signings and I think Mladen Petric will do well. Hugo Rodallega, meanwhile,
always fancied himself as a target for the big boys – he has plenty to prove
now he’s gone to Fulham.

I was
really surprised when Andy Johnson and, especially, Danny Murphy were released.
Fulham willmiss Murphy’s leadership,
passing and dead ball expertise. I can see them struggling this year. Bottom
half, maybe a relegation scrap.

Liverpool

All
change at Anfield. Craig Bellamy did well for Liverpool last season, and I’m a
bit shocked he has been sold to Cardiff. The transfer of Dirk Kuyt also came as
a surprise. Following King Kenny will be a tough ask for Brendan Rodgers, and I
think that selling those two, and bringing two blokes he had at Swansea may not
convince Kopites of his credentials. If Liverpool make a slow start then Rodgers
could be the new Roy Hodgson on Merseyside. Spending £15m on Joe Allen strikes
me as being completely crazy, and merely underlines why Wenger buys from abroad
most of the time.

On the
plus side at Liverpool is the return to fitness of Lucas Leiva. A bit like
Gilberto at Arsenal, most Liverpool fans only really appreciated the Brazillian
once he was missing. I wonder how different things might have been for Dalglish
had Lucas been fit. I also wonder how it might have turned out had he got them
playing to Andy Carroll’s strengths earlier.

Rodgers
seems to have dismissed Carroll as a target man – that is to under-estimate the
big man’s ability. I think he and Suarez could be a dynamite partnership used
in the right way. I can’t see Rodgers going down that route though.

Similar
to Everton for the red half of scouse-land – top half, maybe a UEFA Cup spot.

Manchester
City

All is
not well with the Champions. Brian Marwood seems intent on upsetting Roberto
Mancini. Taking on the man who is seen as delivering success to City is a brave
(suicidal) move by Marwood – the fans will back the Manager. Their only signing
has been Jack Rodwell, which is very much a surprise, and appears to be solely
to do with keeping up their home player numbers. By the same token, nobody of
note has left.It remains to be seen how
long many players will put up with playing second and third fiddle – especially
if their international chances start to dwindle. It’s probably just a matter of
time before Tevez does something stupid again as well. And then there is the
madness of Mario Balotelli.

Obviously
City will challenge once again at the top and, as it stands, I would say anyone
finishing above them could be Champions come May. Top two/three for City.

Manchester
United

The
signing of Robin Van Persie has made them the favourites on the eve of the season.
You’d have to say, with a fit Rooney and RVP they have the firepower to blow
everyone away. The problem is that Van Persie isn’t always fit. For the last
eighteen months he’s been flying, but every year before that was the same old
thing. I really hope Van Persie returns to his old injured ways – it couldn’t
happed to a nicer person.

I was a
bit surprised that Ji Sung Park was sold to QPR – he was always involved in big
matches, much like Yossi Benayoun was at Arsenal last season. Aside of that the
likes of Rio Ferdinand get no younger, or less injured. I remain utterly
unconvinced by the clown that plays in goal at Old Trafford – Lindegaard looks
so much better than De Gea. I seem to say it every year, and get proved wrong
every year, but I believe United are vulnerable. You can’t keep relying on
Scholes and Giggs, and I suppose that’s another reason for signing Van Persie –
Rooney will now play deeper, possibly in Scholes’ position.

Again
you would be mad to bet against United, and I can’t see them falling from the
top three. As with City, finish above them and you won’t be far away. If Van
Persie stays fit then I make them Champions, which wasn’t what was written here
when I originally did it on Wednesday.

Newcastle
United

Last
season’s surprise package have their work cut out if they are to reproduce such
a great campaign. Will Papiss Cisse be as explosive now defenders have had a
good look? How long will Demba Ba put up with not playing through the middle?
Will their weak defence finally get found out for what it really is?

Alan
Pardew, cretin though he is, certainly excelled himself, and made Newcastle a
very tough Premier League team. If they can get off to a good start, with Ba
and Cisse firing again, then they are a good bet for another top four
challenge. In Tiote and Cabaye they have two very fine central midfield
players, while Ben Arfa has sublime ability at times. If any of those gets
injured though, there is not a lot of strength in depth.

Top six
for Newcastle, if they make a good start.

Norwich
City

Under
Paul Lambert last year they scored enough goals to make up for their leaky
defence. Chris Hughton will want to make that back line far more secure. It is
unlikely that Grant Holt will reproduce the goals he got last season, and
signings from the lower divisions do not breed confidence. Michael Turner has
been brought in from Sunderland to play centre-half, but his fitness record
will be a major concern, while Steven Whittaker has to make the step up from
the Scottish Premier League.

Relegation
battle for Norwich, hopefully with a successful outcome.

Queens
Park Rangers

Any club
that employs Joey Barton deserves to be in a relegation battle. I was amazed
they didn’t sack him after his actions on the final day of last season should
have seen them back in the Championship, but for results elsewhere going their
way.

QPR have
made some good signings, replacing Paddy Kenny with Robert Green being just one
improvement. Bringing in Fabio and Park from Manchester United could be
inspired, while getting Junior Hoillett in from Blackburn was a bit of a coup.
Andy Johnson will also improve their chances of scoring some goals.

At the
back it’s a slightly different story, with Danny Gabbidon and a number of
others released and replaced by Ryan Nelsen. The former Blackburn man was awful
in his few games for Spurs, and is among the slowest players I’ve ever seen at
this level. Put together with Mark Hughes as Manager and they have a recipe for
disaster.

Relegation
battle for QPR, possibly going down, but more likely surviving by the skin of
their teeth.

Reading

I was
pleased when the Royals came back up to the Premier League. Brian McDermott,
quite apart from being a former Arsenal player, has been outstanding since
taking the Manager’s job. They play nice football, in a nice stadium (though
the pitch is bad from the rugby that gets played on it). Again they’ve made a
number of signings, largely from lower divisions. However, the signing of
Pogrebnyak is massive as he has the quality to score goals in the Premier
League, if they can get the ball to him in the right areas. Signing former
skipper Nicky Shorey may also be good business.

Having
said all of that it will be a massive struggle for Reading. I find it unlikely
that they will find their way out of the congested lower areas of the table.
Sadly, I think they will be relegated come next May. I just hope they stick
with McDermott and let him build further.

Southampton

It’s
great to see a side like Southampton back in the Premier League. They are a
Club who belong at this level, much like Forest and Sheffield Wednesday and
Leeds. Having been promoted two seasons in a row to get back here they are very
much favourites to go down again.

The
signings they’ve made (some of them not so cheap) are not really of Premier
League quality. It will be a really tough season at St Mary’s. They have to
hope that the home crowd can finally create some Dell-like atmosphere and get a
home record that will keep them out of trouble. Somehow I don’t see it
happening. I hope that they are not quick to sack the boss, and just accept
their fate and build for future promotions. As I said, they belong here.

Relegation
for Saints.

Stoke
City

Love to
see them go down. Won’t happen. Bottom half. No more to say about this mob.

Sunderland

They
seem to have been written off before the season begins. It’s strange that their
only signings are free-agent Louis Saha and Carlos Cuellar from Villa. Last
season they had spent lots and were well fancied, only to struggle badly under
Steve Bruce. I suspect the opposite will be true this year under Martin
O’Neill.

I’m not
a fan of O’Neill, but you can’t deny his record. His teams don’t play a lot of
good football, but they are organised and very difficult to beat. He is a boss
who knows what he wants from his players and he leaves them in doubt about it.
They did well at times after Christmas last season, though injury to Sessegnon
in pre-season has put them on the back-foot.

I think
that the Sunderland fans that are worried need not be too concerned, despite
the fact that they are kicking off at our place on Saturday. Under O’Neill they
will do well, and might even get a decent cup run to enjoy.

Top half
for Sunderland.

Swansea
City

They
were the big surprise from last season, and their over-performance has seen
their boss get the top job at Liverpool. I don’t know anything about their
signings, but the loss of Joe Allen may be keenly felt in midfield.

A number
of players at Swansea played above themselves last season, but they still
relied heavily on the form of their goalkeeper, Michel Vorm (his only real
mistake of note came at Arsenal early on in the season). The vociferous home
crowd also saw them pick up a lot of home points.

This
season will be a different story in South Wales. I’m not sure about Michael
Laudrup as Manager, and I can see him not making it to next May. I think the
Championship will beckon for Swansea come the end of the season, and they will
join Reading and Southampton in the bottom three.

Tottenham

I think
Villas Boas was badly done to at Chelsea. Under ‘Arry I never really feared the
Spuds. They fell apart after their thrashing at our place in February, and
Redknapp could do nothing about it. Under the new man I think they could have a
decent season, especially in Europe. Sigurdsson and Vertonghen look like they
could be decent additions, and they’ve lost nobody of note from their own
staff. However, they will struggle to replace Adebayor’s goals after his loan
finished, and he seems to be pricing himself out of a permanent return to the
Lane. The sale of Modric may well see Adebayor back with them, but Modric going
will be a bigger loss than Adebayor is able to offset.

I really
don’t see Defoe fitting in to Villas-Boas’ style of play, while Van Der Vaart’s
hamstrings seem increasingly brittle. Having said that, I can see them really
pushing for that top four place this season. Certainly I fancy them to in the
top five.

West
Bromwich Albion

I’ve
said already how the bottom of the table will be congested. In the absence of
Roy Hodgson I think that may be the saving grace for West Brom this season.
Steve Clarke has been a redoubtable coach, but is he a Manager? Fans at The
Hawthorns are about to find out.

I was a
bit surprised they released Keith Andrews and Somen Tchoyi, while Paul Scharner
will be a big miss as a reliable squad performer. Having said that they have
made two fine signings. Securing Ben Foster on a permanent deal could be
crucial at the back, while Romelu Lukaku has a point to prove. Having chosen to
join Chelsea, ahead of a host of other clubs, he would have expected to play
more – now he has the chance to make his point on a season’s loan. Markus
Rosenberg is another good signing.

I think
West Brom will do enough to avoid the drop, but Clarke may not last as boss.

West Ham

The
Hammers have made 8 signings so far, and seen 5 players go out. It’s very much
a typical Allardyce close-season. He’s gone for an old faithful goalkeeper in
Jussi Jaaskelainen, but anyone who saw him at Bolton last season will know he
is long finished at the top level. James Collins will bring good Premier League
experience and quality to the back four, if he can keep his mind on football
and away from the pub. Mohammed Diame, from Wigan, and Alou Diarra bring real
physical presence in the midfield.

As much
as I would love to see an Allardyce team struggle I suspect West Ham will be
pretty safe. Whether that will be enough for the fans is another matter – there
won’t be much good football in evidence at Upton Park again.

I think
it will be a very safe and respectable mid-table finish, but expect a “West Ham
fans v English press” style battle to develop over Allardyce’s tactics.

Wigan
Athletic

I
thought this time last year that Wigan were going to break the cycle and end
their annual flirtation with the drop. Until the last ten or so games I was
wrong. Then they clicked into overdrive and became one of the best sides in the
country. Their performance at Arsenal was outstanding and they were well worth
the result they got at our place.

I will
be watching Wigan keenly this season to see how Ryo Miyaichi gets on and I
fully expect Martinez to drag them up the table further this year. I am
surprised at how much Victor Moses seems to be interesting Chelsea, and I don’t
think he will be such a loss in the circumstances, if he leaves.

Pushing
for a top half finish, perhaps.

Arsenal

All of
which brings us to the only team that matter. Our signings had me feeling good
about our prospects, but the possible departure of Alex Song, and lack of
replacement for Robin Van Persie has tempered that somewhat. I feel that the
fact we have finally spent a few quid on experienced quality like Podolski and
Cazorla put the sort of buzz around the
Club that has not been felt for a while. I just hope the departures don’t burst
that bubble.

Defensive
deficiencies can still do us real harm this season, and we lack any genuine
cover for our goalkeeper. I would still like to see some quality brought in,
and time will tell whether Steve Bould has the ability to organise the
defenders into a proper unit.

I would
still like to see a change in formation and style to protect the back-four
better, but I am vaguely optimistic for our chances going in to the new season.
This time last year I incorrectly forecast our demise and said we’d finish
outside the top six. This year I am more confident and, when I originally wrote
this piece I tipped us as potential Champions. Now I think we will finish
third, closer to the Manchester clubs than last year, but not close enough.

Sunderland
(h) preview

As I
said above the natives on Wearside are alittle restless. I was a bit surprised at this until I saw that their
signings were so minimal. Without the departed Nicklas Bendtner they do look a
little short of numbers up front, and will be relying on a coming of age for
Connor Wickham and a real show of ability from Ji Dong Won. Stephane
Sessegnon’s injury problems are probably the biggest cause of concern. Having
said all of that, O’Neill’s ability to organise a defence and to motivate
players should mean no real problems in the long-run. Add one or two players,
especially up front, and they could do well.

In terms
of the game tomorrow I expect O’Neill to pack his midfield. You can be fairly
certain that Lee Cattermole will be appointed kicker in chief and will have the
job of making sure our creativity is stemmed by some “agricultural” play. In
Mignolet they have a goalkeeper with a growing reputation, and I always fear
opposition keepers. There is a seemingly endless list of shot-stoppers who have
reserved their best for us, especially when we play at home.

For
Arsenal the starting line-up will depend on who has been where and done what in
midweek. I had hoped that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be fit, and I have to
question our medical staff (again) who allowed him to play on for 20 minutes
after he got injured last Sunday. I would be very surprised if Theo Walcott
wasn’t playing from the off tomorrow, with Lukas Podolski either on the other
flank or playing at centre-forward. Personally I would like to see Giroud up
front and scoring a goal or two – what better way to announce yourself in the
wake of Van Persie leaving? Santi Cazorla may well be benched for his first
taste of the Premier League after flying to Puerto Rico this week for Spain’s
latest long-distance jaunt.

The
start of the season should always be a time to be hopeful. Last year it was
anything but that with the state Arsenal had got itself in to. This season it
is different.

The lead
in time has seemed shorter this year due to the publicity of the Olympics, but
now football is here to take over again. I hope there are some changes in
attitude both from and towards the players. The media, in particular, must stop
setting up footballers as something they are not – most of them have achieved
nothing compared to our Olympic champions, so let’s remember that as the best
lesson to be learnt from London 2012. It’s going to be the usual nine months of
triumph and torture. As the long Winter stretches ahead, I intend to enjoy
watching football in the sun tomorrow. The start of the season. You can’t beat
it. And f*** everyone else!

2 comments:

according to myles over at arsenal news review song has chucked his toys out of the pram and has said he won't play as he wants the barca move. amnesia and disloyalty seem to be the prime prerequisites for a professional footballer today. if it's true, what a prick.

Its easy to blame players. let me ask you when last did a player hang his boots at Arsenal? Clint Dempsey is being fined for refusing to play that also send a message to others. Oh no not at Arsenal, it makes good sense to sell and continue to rebuild. Like the manager said we can survive.Honestly tell me can you work in an environment where there is negativity every year? i dont think so.As a fan have you not hard the feeling that the team needed bodies and intense competition for places? Are they not human to envy others of probably lesser quality who are doing well? Or can anyone out there tell me Mikel Obi or Michael Carrick is better than Song? but they do have something to show for it. Was Henry a prick when he left to join Barcelona just to win the CL?No, the problem is a vision that never materialised and players not having the stomach for the false promises.Remember Arsene Wenger told us today we have survive such losses and will continue too. SURVIVE? And he can understand the fans frustration. Really?Dude woulld it have been better to take 12M for VAn Persie to go to Juve or 24M to Manu? Well you know what the board thought about it.